Credit, debit and prepaid calling card services are known and are used to purchase goods and services. Traditionally, prepaid accounts were used by consumers that had a poor or unestablished credit history or by consumers who did not desire to use any credit card. However, more recently, pre-paid calling services are increasingly used by consumers who simply wish to pay cash, who do not want to give out credit information or who believe they will receive a better long distance rate with a prepaid calling card. A prepaid calling service allows consumers to charge telephone calls made from both wireline and wireless telecommunications system against a prepaid account. Calls made through the prepaid service provider's system are charged against the customer's prepaid account. Typically, a customer may purchase a prepaid calling card from a retail outlet or from vending machines located at various sites. Calling cards are available in various denominations and by purchasing such a calling card a consumer is essentially purchasing a fixed amount of call time that will be metered out depending on the specifics of each call.
Prepaid account replenishment is currently supported by schemes wherein carriers sell prepaid cards at retail outlets. There are two different prepaid schemes in use today, one for long distance (LD) and one for wireless. They differ in the method of use. LD prepaid allows the consumer to use any phone to place a pre-paid call. Each call requires the consumer to dial a prepaid access number, which is typically an 800 toll free number. Then the user enters a prepaid account number from the prepaid card and the actual number to be called. The database tracks the amount on the prepaid account. If the balance is non zero the process can be repeated until a zero balance is reached. At that point (zero balance) the account is void and the consumer has to purchase another card with another account number. These account numbers are sometimes called “PINs”. The wireless prepaid operation is different in that the wireless consumer is only allowed to place and receive the prepaid calls from one wireless telephone. The consumer purchases a prepaid card as in the LD prepaid case and then calls an 800 number. For wireless prepaid, the user enters the telephone number of the wireless telephone and the PIN from the card. From then on, the prepaid value is associated with the wireless telephone and not with the prepaid account, and the wireless phone can be used in a normal manner to place calls. Typically, a wireless customer buys a wireless phone and is provided with a prepaid card. The customer then breaks a seal on the card to reveal a code. The customer may then call a toll-free number provided with the card to activate the account. To activate the account the customer has to provide his telephone number and the code on the card. The wireless service provider then correlates the code with a database to determine the amount on the card and credits the customer's wireless telephone with the purchased amount. The customer may then utilize wireless services of the carrier against that account up to the balance in the customer's prepaid account. Once such an account has been credited to the wireless phone account, the physical card itself becomes useless and is disposable.
Once the customer has used up the balance in the prepaid account, he has to purchase another card from the retail outlet and go through the same process of replenishing the account. There are many problems inherent in the prior art. The customers have to find a retail outlet that sells such cards every time the customer desires to replenish his or her account. This requirement can be burdensome, especially for roaming customers. Furthermore, customers have to purchase new cards with new codes and possibly different toll-free numbers to call each time they want to replenish their account. Furthermore, with wireless services, they have to make sure that the prepaid calling card they purchase at retail outlets are accepted by their wireless carrier.
Since most prepaid calling cards are purchased through retail outlets, there are overhead expenses associated with marketing these cards. Thus, existing prepaid calling cards inherently have a retail distribution chain mark up in the card's cost. This adds an expense to the prepaid calling card that is not recovered by the user in extra calling time. Thus, there is a need in the art for a system to allow prepaid customers to replenish their accounts at an increased number of locations and at the same time reducing the markup associated with such retail distribution to reduce the cost of prepaid services.
The existing scheme of selling cards requires that all outlets have stock of prepaid cards. This may have been possible when prepaid phone only operated within defined geographic areas, however, wireless prepaid networks are now being enhanced to allow roaming. Wireless networks will allow prepaid customers to roam and use wireless telephones virtually anywhere in the United States and the world. Thus, it is extremely important that consumers have access to a large number of distribution points to enable them to replenish their prepaid accounts or have access to a network that will allow then to replenish from virtually anywhere.